See you soon Colombia!

Dear readers,

I am SO excited...in less than 12 hours I will be headed to Bogota, Colombia! :) Seriously cannot wait! My trip will be as follow: Bogota, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Taryona Parc, Cali, Popayan, Cali and back to Bogota. If any of you readers have been to one of these places or are currently living there, please share some tips! I would love to hear them! It would definitely make my stay so much more special, indulging the local tips! :)

As always, I will post photos as soon as I am back in Holland! In the meanwhile I hope I can write some posts when I am in Colombia.

For now...I wish you a very pleasant Easter and talk to you soon!

Love, Melissa

Colombia & Istanbul!

Dear readers,

Don't you just love it when you can look forward to an amazing trip? Or better yet...TWO amazing trips?! Travelling is really one of my passions and this time I chose Istanbul and Colombia. HUH? Yeah well, in February I will go and explore Istanbul during 5 days with one of my closest friends and at the end of March I will go to Colombia for 3 weeks. I have to go there to baptise my nephew, because I am not only his aunt, but also his godmother! :) Anyway, since I am already there, I thought it would be nice to see some other parts of the country as well, especially since I hear so many good stories about Colombia. They have everything you can wish for: culture, architecture, museums, supernice beaches, jungle, big cities...only downside is that it is unfortunately still not 100% safe, but I am sure I will live to tell LOL! I have been there once before, so I should be allright!

So, I collected some great shots from both destinations, hope you like it!

Istanbul shots:

Hagia Sophia Mosque

View of the city

Bosphorus river

Colombia shots:

A sculpture from the famous Colombian artist Botero in Medellín

Monserrate in Bogota



Tayrona Park



Cartagena

These are just some shots for you to get an impression. Of course, when I am back from these trips I will upload my own pictures, just like I did last time when I was in the US.

Have any of you been to these places or does any of you live there? I am always open for some great tips, so share, share, share! :)

Love, Melissa

I'm back!

Dear readers,

Although my trip was truly an amazing experience, it's really good to be back! It also offers me the possibility to write on my blog on a more regular basis, so be prepared for some reading material as I will be posting new stuff every single day haha!
How are you all doing? I really missed my readers and followers!

Love, Melissa

Enjoying myself!

Dear readers,

Until now I did not have any time to post anything, sorry for that! At this moment I´m in Honduras and enjoying myself a lot! Before arriving in Honduras, I went to Miami, where I had a blast as well! I don´t know if you read my first post ¨Welcome¨ but in there I write about working at my father´s company. He has an import/export company in tropical plants and in a few years I will take over the company as my father will retire in a couple of years. So right now, I´m still learning! However, I already know I want to continue this path, because I´m already kind of in love with the whole scene! :) To be so sure about something feels so liberating and it also gives me strength to not just be good, but to be the best in what I´m doing! Do you recognize this feeling?
So tonight we went to dinner to ¨Club Arabe¨ with my fathers associates here in Honduras and I wanted to share some pictures of the amazing place, but I can´t find any online...what the ***, right?! Well, trust me on this, it´s an amazing place, so if you´re planning to visit San Pedro Sula, Honduras, try to go there, it is well worth it!

In 2 days I´m headed to El Salvador and after that to Costa Rica. Too bad this trip will be over in 8 days, but hopefully I will go again soon!

For now, I´ll share some pictures of the beach where you can find me tomorrow :) Hey, it´s business, but with 43 degrees Celsius don´t blame me for wanting to take a dive in the ocean ;)





Sorry, I really did not want to make you jealous haha!

Love, Melissa

See you in 13 days!

Dear readers,

Today I leave for a business trip and unfortunately I will not be able to write on a daily basis. I definitely hope I get the change to write at least 1 or 2 times, but I cannot promise it! Good thing there are 131 posts on my blog, so you will not be bored when visiting my blog...that I can promise! :)
So, where I'm headed? I'm going to Miami, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Not so bad, right?!

For now, goodbye and see you in 2 weeks!

Love, Melissa

Guatemala!

Dear readers,

As you may or may not know, I have a mixed background. My father is Dutch and my mother is Guatemalan. As a family, we used to go to Guatemala every year during summer to visit our family, but I've not been there since I was 13 due to the fact that Guatemala unfortunately gets more dangerous every single year. It is now almost 13 years since I last visited my country, but I never forget it and I will definitely go their in time when the situation in Guatemala improves. Hopefully, that will be soon! However, I know many people are not aware what a beautiful country Guatemala really is and therefore I thought it would be a great idea to give it some attention here on my blog. Hopefully you like what you see! Please tell me if you do! I would really appreciate it!

Love, Melissa


Maya temples in Tikal


The colonial city of Antigua


Lake Atitlan with in the background its volcanoes


Different view from lake Atitlan.


Overview of Guatemala City


Maya girls laughing at the camera


A fruit market with indigenous people


At the famous Chicicastenango market where you can find the typical
fabrics known from Guatemala in every possible colour!


You will find all sorts of animals in Guatemala, from apes to iguanas to parrots!

Tuscany!

Dear readers,

I love Italy and especially Tuscany! I love the medieval towns (e.g. Siena), the food (!), the people, the fashion, the wine, the pittoresque landscapes, the culture, the art, the cities (e.g. Florence)...well, actually, just about everything! I have been there twice now and I still have not seen it all yet! I would love to have my own farm there with, of course, a vineyard, some olive trees, a pool and a spectacular view :) Unfortunately, for now, I can only copy some pictures of Tuscany here, so I can share my dream with you. You will see why this is one of my many dreams!


Tuscany landscape


Ponte Vecchio in Florence


Tuscany landscape


A delicacy shop in Florence




Medieval town Siena


Palio (horse race) at the 'Piazza del Campo', Siena


Words say it all!

Have you ever been to Tuscany? If so, don't you just LOVE it? What dreams do you have?

Love, Melissa

What do you think of my shoes?

Dear readers,

I bought these shoes in September when I was in Budapest. Little did I know that feathers were the new big thing this season. However, when I saw them, I was immediately in love. Does that count for you as well? They are from the collection 'By Night' by Paco Gil.

Love, Melissa

Boutique hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Dear readers,

Two years ago my boyfriend and I took a roadtrip through Florida. We went from north to south and had an amazing time! Although all the hotels we stayed in were truly fabulous, there was one which really stood out: The Pillars Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. It's a boutique hotel and has a membership of the "Small Luxury Hotels of the World". It only has 18 rooms, which makes it really cozy and personal. It has a pool deck overlooking the waterways, which makes a day at the pool so much more relaxing. Furthermore, this deck is also used by their restaurant. This restaurant is so exclusive it can only accept hotel guests and friends of the hotel. The night we ate dinner there, we were told they could only accept 20 guests per night. Although it was a bit expensive, the food was delicious and the view breathtaking and priceless! So, if you ever consider going to Fort Lauderdale, try booking at this lovely hotel. You won't be sorry! To give you an impression of what the hotel looks like I have copied some pictures from their website.

Love, Melissa



The pool and poolside rooms.



The bedroom we stayed in.



The pooldeck overlooking the waterways.



The waterways.



The restaurant.